Clarke College is a four year Catholic college located in Dubuque, Iowa. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is
one of three four year institutions in the city of Dubuque, and is one of three Catholic colleges in the Archdiocese of Dubuque.The school was founded by Mother Mary Francis Clarke - who had founded the order of the Sisters of Charity of
the Blessed Virgin Mary - in 1843 as a boarding school for local girls. For a number of
years, Clarke College was an all female school, until the 1970s when the school was made
into a coeducational institution. The school was one of the first in Iowa to offer a
program in Computer Science.In 1984, the school experienced a disastarous fire that destroyed several of its main
buildings. One of the buildings destroyed was the Sacred Heart chapel. The school launched a project to replace the buildings.
The centerpiece of the new buildings is a two story glass atrium.Recently, Clark College President Sr. Catherine Dunn, who has served as President for 23 years, announced that she intends to
step down.